Means for locking rail ends



M32922, 192% m wm J. H. DEPPELER MEANS FOR LOCKING RAIL ENDS Filed Jan. 28, 1928 .16 gg'jgflfi. y JO 1O 161 101 gin newton 13L v :2@

JOEE lEl. DEPPELEEL, 0F EEA'WKEN, NEW JERSEY.

MAN'S FUR LQUKING RAE ENDS.

application filed January at, 19%. Serial Ito. datum The invention relates to means for securing the ends of rails to be welded together by alumino-thermicor other superheated molten metal, against relative movement, so that the tread and gauge faces of the rails will be held in accurate alignment, even under trafic, until the weld has been completed. To this end, the invention comprises providing the abutting faces of sections of rail endswith notches or recesses, whichimay register in whole or in part, and forcing into-the registering notches split wedgesor locking members provided with mutually engaging surfaces inclined to the line of separation of the'railv ends; whereby the engagement of each locking member with thenotches in the rail ends and the inclined facial contact of the two elementsof each locking member will prevent relative movement of the rail ends.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig, l is a fragmentary sectional elevat on of two rail ends having the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an end view of one ofthe ra ls.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of F g. 1.

Fig. d is a view similar to Fig. lshowing the application of the locking means when the notches in the rail ends register only in art.

Fig.5 is a similar view showing a mo ified form of locking means,

In my copending application, Serial No. 250,201, filed Jan. 28, 1928,]l have described an improvement in the art of welding rails by superheated molten metal cast in a mold surrounding the railends, which comprises fining the rail ends against relative movement by forcing a locking member between said ends in notchedengagement with each, and have illustrated several modes of applym the invention, in all of which the preformec notches in the rail ends are arcuate in shape and are in registering alignment to receive round pins, which constitute the locking members. It is obviously important that the notching of the rail ends be done before the rails are laid, in order to avoid thegreater labor and expense involved in forming the accurately registering notches when therails have been laid and secured in position in the track, and especially when trade is being maintained over the track. lit has also been found dificult, in some cases, to provide the respective rail ends with accurately registering notches and at the same time mainta n the tread and gauge surfaces of the rails in ac" curate alient, so that it is necessary either to remove the locking pin and reshape the notches to bring the running surfaces of the rails into alignment, or, in the alternative, to edect the welding of the rail ends in a position which will leave the running surfaces a little out of line and then grind the finished joint to a true surface. In practicing the invention,v

therefore, the welder has to choose one ofthree modes of procedure, the first involving the laying of the rails with the running surfaces in alignment and then machiningor drilling the notches in the respective rail ends; the sec; ond requiring the machining or drilling of the notches in the rail ends before the rails are laid in the track and the possible reforming or reworking of the notches to bring them in substantial alignment after the running sur faces of the two rail ends have been aligned;

and third, the formation of the notches in alignment in the respective rail ends, with the running surfaces of the rail ends more or less out of alignment, and the subsequent machine I ing or grinding of the running surfaces after the welded joint has been formed. There are certain other adverse conditions of applica tion of the invention as described in the copending application, namely, in the welding of rails of difi'erent heights or sizes or the welding of old rails where one rail head may be worn more than the other, in which cases it is necessary to align the running surfaces of the rail without, however, aligning the'longitudin al axes of the rails. in such cases, considerable shilland short are required to make the notches coincide or register-in that particular position or relation which will force the irregular rail heads into aposition to cause the tread and gauge surfaces thereof to align when the locking pins are driven into place. The present invention is designed primarily to overcome these dificulties and to provide for the accurate aligning of the running surfaces of the rails, whetherthe rails be of the same cross section or of sliderent cross sections,owirig to variant sizes,-or to unequal wear on the heads thereof.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the invention is illustrated as applied to rails of uniform cross section, the respective rail ends being indicated by reference numerals l0, l0. One of the rail ends is cut away to form the usual gap or gaps to receive the superheated metal by means of which the welded joint is eflecteol, a projection 11 being left on the excised rail end, the end face of which abuts the web hill hit

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of the other rail end. Semi-circular notches 12, 12 are formed Z11 registering relation in the abutting portions of the rail ends toreceive a locking member comprising a pin consisting of two parts or sections 13 and 13' adapted to substantially fit the whole formed by the registering notches. The contacting faces of these pin sections are rovidcd with interlocking'serrations 14, 14, which conshaped interlocking members 13 and 13 will obviate the necessity of accurately positioning or forming the notches in the rail ends to bring the same into registry, so that the' notches may be formed by an acetylene cutting torch or similar means when the rails are in situ, or, if the notches are formed before the rails are laid and it is subsequently found that the running surfaces of the rails are not in alignment when the notches are in registry, the rails may be laid with their running surfaces in alignment and the notches 12, 12 registering in part only, so that the two members of the locking pin may be inserted in their corresponding notches in vertically olfset relation and driven home, under which conditions the respective serrations 14, 14' on the faces of the members will nevertheless ofthe rail ends.

A similar condition to that just described isillustrated in Fig. 4, in which two rails of dif ferent heights or cross sections are to be welded together at their ends. It will be noted that, while the running surfaces of the rail heads are in accurate alignment, the notches 12, 12 do not register, but are vertically offset with respect to-each other, but nevertheless the serrated facesof the two portions of the locking member or pin are securely interlocked and effectively hold the rail ends against any relativemovement.

In Fig. 5, a-modified form of the invention is illustrated, involving the application of two sets of notches and two split wedging pins, the notches of each pair being shown out of registry, although it will be understood that the locking engagement of the pins and notches will be equally effective as if the respcctive notches were'in registry. In this case, the web and base of one rail end, as 10, is cut away to form the gap'and two notches 12, 12 are formed in the end of the web of the rail and, similarly, two notches 12, 12 are formed in the end of the web of rail 10". The notches 12, 12 ma or may not be in registry, and, as illustrate in Fig. 5, they are out of registry due to the differences in the heights of the rails and the necessity of elevating the shorter rail to bring the running surfaces thereof into alignment with the running surfaces of the higher rail. The two portions 13, 13 of the locking pinare formed with plain engaging surfaces, so that, when the respective portions of each pin are inserted in the notches 12 and 12 and the ins driven home, the mutually engaging sur aces of the :pins are inclined to the line of separation of the rail ends, As shown, the two locking pins are so applied that the planes of separation of the two elements are inclined in opposite directions and, therefore, the two pins engaging the two pairs of notches constitute an effective means to prevent any relative movement of the rail ends.

lVhat I claim is: l

1. Means for locking rail ends against relative movement, comprising notches registering in. whole or in part in the respective rail ends, and a: two part locking member provided with mutually engaging surfaces inclined to the line of separation of the rail ends, the individual parts of the locking members engaging the respective notches.

2. Means for locking rail ends against relative movement, comprising notches registering in whole or in part in the respective rail ends, and a two part locking pin having longitudinallyfiserrated mutually engaging surfaces, the individual parts of the pin engag ing the respective notches.

3. Means for locking rail ends against rela-.

J OHN H. .DEPPELER. 

